01/17/2025
YOU CHARGE THAT MUCH FOR A SMALL CAT?!
Why is cat grooming so expensive is a question I get asked alot. Google has a couple of simplified answers and in this case it isn't wrong.
Cats are not dogs and many people, groomers and clients alike, make the mistake of treating cats like they are dogs. Cats behavioural and grooming needs are very different from those of dogs.
Most cats have a lower tolerance for handling compared to most dogs and it doesn't take very long for them to cross their threshold and become stressed. A cat may only show me 1 sign of stress before escalating into aggressive behaviours to get its point across, which doesn't give me much warning or time to stop what I'm doing to re-evaluate the situation and make necessary changes before proceeding with caution. Generally, with a dog I watch for 3 or more signs before I have to make changes to what I'm doing.
Cats are carnivores and their teeth are designed to rip and tear into flesh with ease including their groomer's...meaning mine or Jessy's. Even with their small size, cats can cause extensive injury with a bite or even a scratch. Cat bites are often deep puncture wounds and are deeper than dog bites making them harder to clean. This makes them a higher risk for infection than dog bites. Comparatively, 3%-18% of dog bites become infected while 28%-80% of cat bites become infected. Puncture wounds in general are the most likely type of bite to become infected, which is the most common type of cat bite. In the pet care profession, most bites are taken on the hands and hands are the most likely body part to become infected from a bite wound compared to other parts of the body when bitten.
Even the smallest cat bite comes with a potential risk of putting us out of work for days, weeks, months, or even permanently.
I have been bitten multiple times by cats in which the bite became painfully swollen to the point of leaving me unable to work in a matter of minutes.
In order to be able to groom cats safely and properly for both the safety of the cat as well as the groomer, professional cat grooming requires a specialized education and skill that vastly differs from dog grooming.
With that said, while most groomers work with dogs, not many work with cats due to the higher risk of injury and permanent damage.
This is why cat grooming is expensive.
CAT GROOMING IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART, SO YES I DO CHARGE THAT MUCH FOR A SMALL CAT.
